


Brotherly Bonding

by FuryTigresse



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Devil May Cry 5 Spoilers, Dysfunctional Family, Family, Family Bonding, Gen, Post Devil May Cry 5, Post-Game(s), Softer Vergil, Talking, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19095436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryTigresse/pseuds/FuryTigresse
Summary: [Spoilers for Devil May Cry 5] Being stuck together in Hell for weeks makes Dante and Vergil grow closer, just a touch, if only because they have no one else to talk to.





	Brotherly Bonding

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually an excuse for me to try out my new Chromebook's keyboard :p I got it yesterday and I really wanted to write _something_ to test it. Some keys are a little awkward for me because I ordered it directly from the US and it comes with a US keyboard, while I'm used to what Chrome OS calls a "French-Canadian Multilingual" keyboard. You wouldn't think it's that different, but it really is.
> 
> Anyway, this is NOT a prequel to _A Time Long Since Gone_ , it's just a thing that I wanted to write. I tried to keep Vergil as in-character as possible in my main series, but I'm weak for a softer Vergil, so I indulge in here xD This one was kind of inspired by a song, but not really at the same time, so I didn't make it part of that series.
> 
> As usual, my first language isn't English and I type pretty quickly (and on a new keyboard now), so feel free to let me know if you see weird sentences and/or typos.

Vergil hissed when Dante managed to smack him with his gigantic sword and send him flying a bit further away, luckily with the flat of the blade and not the edge. Not that he wouldn't have healed, that was no problem, but he still didn't enjoy the feeling of that... that over-the-top, extravagant blade biting into his skin. It represented his brother way too well. No wonder it was named after him.

"Aaaand one more point for Dante!" the younger twin shouted with a grin.  
"Which makes us _even_ , I'll remind you," Vergil retorted.  
"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that."

The Yamato emitted a sinister sound as the Dark Slayer whipped it to the side, head held high, a growl shaking the ground. Dante simply laughed, letting DSD disappear. He sat, which made Vergil shake his head before he imitated him.

"Look, Vergil. We've been 'stuck' in here for weeks, if not months. If you really wanna get rid of me that badly, just open a damn portal and let us out," Dante huffed.

There was no answer from his brother, so he looked at him, and was surprised when he saw that he seemed more thoughtful than anything else. He _did_ remember Vergil being a lot more lost in his thoughts than himself from back when they were kids, but still. As weeks had gone by, his twin had progressively stopped finding as much enjoyment out of their battles, and started closing himself off into his own world more and more often. Dante would never admit it out loud, but it did worry him. Fighting was the only thing they could really do in this stupid place. It wasn't like Hell had much in the way of food and water. Plus, with how often demons attacked them, they didn't really have any time to sleep. A quick nap between two battles was the most they had been able to afford in the past... weeks or months, whatever. Day and night cycles didn't exist in Hell, and keeping track of days was a pain in the ass.

Still, for Vergil to lose himself in his own thoughts so often... Dante did wonder what was wrong with his dumbass of a brother. Was he not a good enough opponent? Was Vergil bored of fighting him? He hoped not.

"Vergil?"

Still no answer. He frowned and got some Summoned Swords out, sending them flying towards his brother, who automatically blocked all of them with the Yamato. He slowly turned to glare at Dante, who couldn't help but smile.

"Welcome back, brother. I was talking to you."  
"I heard you, Dante. I fail to understand why you think I was interested in replying."

That was the bite he knew. The deep silence from before had been entirely out of character for Vergil, it got him worried. Dante laughed a bit and leaned back until he was lying down on the cold, hard ground. There was some kind of pebble in the middle of his back. He moved a bit to the side with a groan. Ah, there. Much better.

"Then you _don't_ want to get rid of me."  
"I haven't said that."  
"I'll still assume that's what you meant, since you're not kicking my ass into a portal right about now."  
"Dante."

The younger twin twisted a bit, trying to see Vergil's face from where he was. He could feel that the mood had changed. It did that, sometimes, and it happened more often as the weeks went by. And when it happened, he always ended up learning more about his brother, about what he had been through in the past twenty years.

"Yeah, Vergil?" he chose to say, genuinely curious, as usual. They might not get along all that well, but they were still brothers, still twins. Plus, it was just the two of them in this place, so it wasn't like there was anyone else to bond with.

Vergil had sheathed the Yamato at some point, Dante wasn't sure when, and he was now staring at nothing, already looking like he was gone into his own world. But he opened his mouth, and looked like he was about to say something. Then he closed it. Dante rolled in order to get closer to his brother, ignoring the sharpness of Hell's ground scratching him.

"You can tell me," he said in a low voice once he was pretty close, on his back next to his brother. His inner demon was unhappy with the position, but Dante knew this might incite Vergil to tell him what was on his mind. His brother didn't enjoy feeling vulnerable. Neither did Dante, actually, but he was better at dealing with the feeling.

"Has... Nero... ever told you about his mother?" Vergil ended up asking.  
"No, he didn't - still doesn't - know who she is."  
"... I see."  
"Wanna talk about her?"

There was a beat of silence, then Vergil breathed deeply. However, he kept silent, and Dante guessed he'd have to speak first if he wanted to learn anything.

"When I first found out about Nero, I had the feeling he was your son. And then the Yamato fully accepted him, and I was certain of it. I spent weeks trying to imagine what kind of woman caught your eye like that."

He waited for a moment, trying to see if his brother would react to that. When he saw that elicited no answer, he continued:

"You know, part of me thought you might have just gotten into a random woman's pants, like, maybe a prostitute's. I couldn't imagine you having a relationship. Then I thought about it more, and I scratched that theory. You're not like that. So, tell me, brother: what kind of woman was she?"

There was some silence, and then Vergil spoke. His voice was low. Dante had to focus his hearing to really get everything.

"Kind... is the best word I have to describe her. She was strong, in her own way, not like us, but emotionally. She was a gentle soul, always ready to help others. She helped _me_ several times, through every obstacle that stood in my way back then."

The younger twin sat, eyes glued to his brother's expression. Vergil looked stoic and emotionless, as usual, but there was... _something_ in his eyes, something that wasn't there before. It wasn't pain. Not exactly. Nostalgia, maybe? He wasn't sure exactly what kind of obstacles Vergil was talking about, but he supposed his brother's life wasn't easy even back then.

"We were so young, but I couldn't resist her. Nothing I told myself kept me away from her side. We stayed together for one month. It was... I suppose you could say it was the happiest month of my life."  
"What happened?" Dante asked quietly, voice almost inaudible.  
"I had to leave her. No mere human can stay in our presence without being endangered."

Dante looked away, nodding quietly. He understood that feeling way too well, the feeling of being dangerous, of fearing that anyone close to him would die in horrible ways. Vergil's grip on the Yamato became tight, and he frowned.

"I left Fortuna in order to search for our father's power."

Another man might have said that was a lie, that Vergil had left Fortuna to protect that woman. But Dante could feel that there was deeper meaning behind his words.

"You wanted the power to protect her."

Vergil glared at him. "Don't be ridiculous."

But he didn't deny Dante's words, and they spent a few minutes not talking, just breathing, taking some time to each think about the past, about "what could have happened if". Dante forced a smile back on after a little while.

"Ya ever thought about staying with her and raising Nero together? Probably not, right? You'd make a terrible father," he said, trying to make it sound like a joke or something more light-hearted at least.  
"I didn't know she was pregnant when I left."  
"So, no. Okay." Welp. 

There was more silence.

"Did you love her?"  
"I'm unfamiliar with such feelings."  
"Come on, Vergil. Love. You _gotta_ know what that feels like."  
"Do you?"

Dante lost his smile. Vergil just huffed, getting up.

"Don't try lecturing me about such a human thing as 'love' when you also have no idea of what it feels like."  
"Vergil, I may not have ever had someone in my life the way you had Nero's mother in yours, but that doesn't mean I forgot the happiness when our parents were there and taking good care of us. Love can be like that, too," Dante insisted as he got up too.  
"I don't remember it."

That was no lie. Dante shook his head a little.

"Okay. But you know what, brother? I think you loved her. You loved her, because I don't think you would have stayed with her for a month if you didn't. You also wouldn't have left to protect her, and you wouldn't have conceived Nero with her."  
"Maybe."

He unsheathed the Yamato in one grand gesture, then turned to face Dante, who sighed, refusing to make his own sword appear.

"Get us out of here, Vergil," the Legendary Devil Hunter pleaded. "Come on. We both stink and we're getting seriously sappy. This is super out of character for both of us and I have a hunch it's because we're exhausted. Let's get outta here, and then we can like, fight again once we've washed up and changed clothes? I miss eating pizza."

Vergil kept quiet for a few seconds, then turned. He slashed at the air and opened a portal before sheathing his blade. He then looked back towards Dante, an eyebrow quirked.

"Well? After you, little brother."

Dante squashed the suspicions that Vergil wouldn't follow him, that he would send him to a place worse than Hell, that he himself would make sure to stay in the Underworld so that he would never have to exist in a world that he didn't feel he belonged to. He smiled at his brother, and walked through the portal.

A few seconds later, he was standing in familiar streets, and he looked around the moment he knew there was no danger. Vergil was just stepping out of the portal behind him, and Dante could have collapsed in relief if he hadn't been busy trying to figure out why he knew those streets. Vergil sighed and gave him the answer.

"Fortuna. I didn't think I would ever come back here."

Fortuna. Right! That was where they were. Dante grabbed his brother's arm, earning a glare. He ignored it and grinned.

"Fortuna is a perfect destination. Come on. I know just the place where we can crash and clean up."

He then proceeded to drag his brother all the way to Nero's place. The kid would be _very_ surprised. Dante couldn't wait to see his reaction, and hopefully said reaction wouldn't involve a bitch slap.


End file.
